Cooperation
by Phoenix Boy
Summary: There is nothing that Yukimura hates more than wasted talent and, as it stands, Fudomine might fall into that category. 6th in the Promises arc though also stands alone.


-1"Tachibana, mind if I join you?"

Tachibana looked up at the quiet voice. He recognised the other boy at once - Rikkai's Yukimura wasn't the sort that was easily forgotten - and gestured towards the chair opposite him.

Having been knocked out of the National tournament the previous day, he had been taking advantage of an early start to grab a snack before heading off to watch the semi-final matches. Rikaki, on the other hand, were due to start their match shortly, so there was no obvious reason for Yukimura to need to talk to him.

"How can I help you, Yukimura," he said, voice level. This might be the number one player in their age category but if the other boy wasn't using honorifics, neither was he. Yukimura's smile became slightly predatory as he spotted the implied challenge and then he was serious again.

"You may have heard that I'm not particularly tactful."

Tachibana stared at him. It was common knowledge but to come out and say it like that… What exactly were they about to discuss?

"I might have."

"Then accept that what I am about to say will be rather difficult without being somewhat rude. I'm not trying to insult you."

"Okay."

"Firstly, congratulations on making it so far in the tournament. I have to say that it wasn't what I'd anticipated of you after last year but Fudomine looked strong."

"You didn't expect to see me at Fudomine or as a captain?" Tachibana asked wryly. Yukimura's smile was slightly crooked.

"Both, really. I wouldn't have trusted you with my time, this time last year. That said, I think they only made me captain to make me a bit more responsible. I'd never heard of Fudomine until you won the districts and didn't pay much attention until you knocked Hyotei out. Even then, I was inclined to think Atobe had let his guard down. He had but that doesn't take away anything I said about your strength. I'm sure you know how much time I spent ill this year. "I was given tapes of all the relevant matches for me to watch and analyse in preparation for nationals," he smiled again and Tachibana found himself smiling back. "I think it was as much to keep me from climbing the walls as anything else - I don't make a good invalid - but was impressed by your second years."

"Thank you. I'll pass that on to my team."

"To be honest, it was your team that I was going to talk to you about. As I understand it you're the coach as well as the captain and the only third year on the squad and quite frankly Fudomine is a no name school with no support structure in place. What's happening with them next year?"

Tachibana sighed. It was a question he'd asked himself many times and he'd yet to come up with a solution that satisfied him.

"It's hard to say. I think we should be able to convince the school to hire a coach, at least for a couple of days a week. I'll stay on to help coach for the rest of this year but my father's being transferred back to Kyushu next year so I won't be able to watch them. Still, they're motivated enough that I think they'll do fine."

"To have come this far in such a short time, I think I agree with you. And after that? Fudomine doesn't have a senior high section, does it?"

"No. I'm not even sure that all of them will continue with school, let alone with tennis. Those that do are likely to be split up."

"As we thought, then. There's very little we can do about next year but when they leave Fudomine, we'd like them to consider at least applying for tennis scholarships at some of the top teams in Kantou. They have the talent if not the training. Obviously, I can't guarantee anything, even at Rikkai, but that's my advice."

Tachibana nodded cautiously. He had been thinking along those lines himself: really there was no other way for his team to stay at National level for the next four years - a year without coaching would do them little harm, if they kept up with their training, as they would be expected to retire from the team partway through the year anyway but after that they would need to consider the best approach.

"We hunted out a set of application forms for Rikkai and Seigaku. Honestly, I think Hyotei are a bit eccentric even compared to the rest of us and I wouldn't inflict Atobe on anyone. At any rate, if you want Hyotei's forms, you can get them yourself. I think all the details are in there. I'd like Kamio-kun and Ibu-kun to at least consider Rikkai - you might have noticed that we're going to be somewhat short on experience next year with only Kirihara staying on."

"And what would you suggest?"

"It depends on their approach. I can remember my captain explaining all this to me once. If they came to Rikkai, they'd almost certainly have to live in dorms, which may or may not be a good thing. As a school, we have a large tennis club and top level equipment. Our approach tends to focus on the technical side of the game and the training reflects that. Seigaku, on the other hand, goes more for the mental game. One isn't necessarily better, just different."

Yukimura stood up, putting a pile of paper on the table.

"Have a look through this, you might find it interesting. I have to go now: the matches will be starting soon and I have to be there even if I'm not playing."

"Of course, go ahead. Good luck with your match."

"Thank you," Yukimura bowed slightly. As he was leaving he paused for a moment. "Next year, don't worry too much about your team: we'll keep an eye on them just as we will for our own teams."

Kippei nodded his thanks as he watched the slight figure wend its way away through the crowds.

"Tachibana-san, who was that?" Kamio demanded, following his gaze. Kippei smiled, relieved that he'd at least restrained himself from interrupting while Yukimura was there.

"Rikkai's Yukimura: he wanted to talk about what Fudomine was doing next year."

"Are these application forms for Rikkai, Tachibana-san? I'm not sure if I want to go there: they do have a good team but I don't think I'd want to play on the same team as Kirihara even if he is playing properly now."

"That's what he said, Shinji. Apparently a few of the other captains have been thinking about recruiting you guys after you graduate from Fudomine."

"This doesn't look like an application form," Kamio said, flicking through the pages of a notebook. Kippei took the book he was holding out and felt his mouth drop open. Page upon page of neatly written notes of training exercises and menus specifically for each of his players.

"Incredible."

"What do you mean?"

"Yukimura knows that you won't have a coach next year unless we can convince the school to hire one, and even then it won't be a top rate one. He's provided training guidelines tailored to you."

"It looks to me like there were two people working on them," Shinji observed, peering over his shoulder. Kippei looked again at the sheets and was forced to agree: there did appear to be two sets of handwriting.

He looked back to where he'd seen Yukimura last and caught sight of the yellow uniform next to a taller figure in Seigaku's white and blue.

"Tezuka." Thinking about it, it made sense that Tezuka, who had no doubt been watching them since the district tournament, would have had to have helped designing the training. Maybe it had even been him who had obtained the tapes. Who would have thought that those two would be working so closely together? He had to admit that it was something of an intimidating combination.


End file.
